The trend of ‘double engine’ power is going on in Haryana politics. For the past three decades, the tradition has been that a single party or coalition government is formed at the Center and the state. Haryana assembly elections are being held after the Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, the party occupying the power at the center is seen occupying the power in the state. While the BJP is trying to maintain this tradition, the Congress is trying to break the tradition of ‘double engine’ government and write a new history. In such a situation it has to be seen who wins the political battle in Haryana?
After the Lok Sabha elections, the first assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. The BJP, which has scored a hat-trick of wins at the Centre, is planning to pull off a similar miracle in Haryana, for which the party has put all its might. The BJP knows that if it fails in the Haryana assembly elections, the opposition will start creating slogans that the graph of the BJP in the country is going down. That is why BJP is working with full strength to win Haryana elections. In such a situation, BJP is trying to show that the party which forms the government at the center is in power in Haryana.
BJP ready to win for the third time
The BJP, which has been in power for the last two terms in Haryana, is trying to form the government after winning for the third time in a row. In his first election rally in Kurukshetra, PM Modi mentioned maintaining the tradition of twin engine government. He said that the people of Haryana are forming the government of the same political party which has been at the center for 50 years. Not only PM Modi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal also said in a rally in Gurugram that the history of Haryana is that the party that forms the government at the center forms the government in Haryana.
Political History of Haryana
There have been a total of 13 assembly elections in the political history of Haryana so far, out of which the BJP has come to power only three times. BJP formed a coalition government with Haryana Vikas Party in 1996. After this, in the 2014 elections, in the Modi wave, the BJP formed the government with an absolute majority of 47 seats. The government was formed with the support of the Janayak Janata Party after winning 40 seats in the 2019 elections. The BJP is trying to capture power for the third time in a row, citing the Modi government at the Centre.
Trend of ‘double engine’ government in Haryana
The process of ‘double engine’ government has been going on for three decades in Haryana. In 1996, even though the BJP formed the government at the Center for only 13 days, it remained part of the government in Haryana with Bansilal. After this, the BJP came to power at the Center in 1999 in an alliance with the NDA, which also included the INLD. After this in 2000 assembly elections were held in Haryana. The BJP and INLD contested the elections together, with the alliance winning 53 of the 90 seats. Congress got only 21 seats.
Congress rule from 2005 to 2015
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress emerged as the single largest party and formed a multi-party government. Assembly elections were held in Haryana in 2005 after returning to power in the country. In this election, Congress returned to power in Haryana by winning 67 seats. Thus once again a ‘double engine’ government was formed in Haryana. After this, after winning the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led UPA government formed at the Centre. Assembly elections were held in 2010 after a year. Although the Congress could not achieve an absolute majority, it was able to form the government with the help of independents and other parties. Thus Congress remained in power in Haryana along with the Centre.
BJP has been in power in Haryana for ten years
The change of power in the country in 2014 had a political impact on the politics of Haryana as well. Haryana assembly elections were held in 2015, a year after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won 47 out of 90 seats in Haryana to form the government with an absolute majority and also succeeded in making its own Chief Minister for the first time. After this, the BJP managed to win the political battle in Haryana as well, returning to power at the Center with a huge majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 40 seats despite not getting a majority. BJP has formed the government with the support of JJP and independents.
Trying to maintain and break tradition
BJP wants to preserve the tradition of double engine government in Haryana at all cost, while Congress is trying to change it. In the same way BJP had to lose five out of 10 seats in Haryana in Lok Sabha elections this time. Congress’s increased seats and vote share have added to the difficulty for the BJP. Apart from this, the issue of anti-incumbency and farmers, wrestlers and soldiers has also become a problem for BJP, due to which BJP cannot play openly.
The BJP is contesting elections with the help of caste equation to achieve a hat-trick of power and to maintain the tradition of double engine. But the Congress is hoping to return to power with the help of the Dalit, Jat, OBC and Muslim equation. Traditionally Jat votes were counted against the BJP and this time the agitation of farmers and wrestlers may also have an impact on the elections. Hence, BJP’s emphasis is on OBC voters and it wants to return to power with the help of Naib Singh Saini. Congress is trying to end the tradition of double engine with Dalit and Jat equation.
